fd and ripgrep: Find and Search, Supercharged

fd replaces find with sane defaults (respects .gitignore, case-insensitive, color output). ripgrep replaces grep with 10-100x faster search through large codebases.

# fd: modern find replacement (written in Rust)
# Faster, respects .gitignore, simpler syntax

# Install
brew install fd          # macOS
apt install fd-find      # Ubuntu/Debian (binary is 'fdfind')

# Find files by name (case-insensitive by default)
fd config                # finds files named 'config', 'Config.js', etc.
fd '\.tsx$'              # regex: all .tsx files
fd -e ts -e tsx          # by extension (no dot)
fd -t d src              # type: directory named 'src'
fd -t f -x wc -l        # find files, run 'wc -l' on each (parallel)

# ripgrep (rg): grep replacement -- blazing fast, respects .gitignore
# Install: brew install ripgrep / apt install ripgrep

# Basic search
rg 'useState'                       # search current dir recursively
rg 'TODO|FIXME' --glob '*.ts'       # glob filter
rg -l 'console\.log'               # list file names only
rg -n 'export default' src/         # show line numbers

# Context lines
rg -C 3 'throw new Error'           # 3 lines before and after
rg -A 5 'async function fetchUser'  # 5 lines after match

# Type filtering (rg knows language extensions)
rg --type ts 'interface'            # TypeScript files only
rg --type-add 'web:*.{html,css,js}' --type web 'font-face'

bat and eza: Better cat and ls

bat adds syntax highlighting and git diff integration to cat. eza replaces ls with git status indicators, human-readable sizes by default, and tree output.

# bat: cat with syntax highlighting, line numbers, git diffs
# Install: brew install bat / apt install bat (binary may be 'batcat')

# Basic usage
bat README.md                       # with syntax highlighting
bat src/index.ts                    # TypeScript highlighted
bat --style=plain file.txt          # no decorations (pipe-safe)
bat --paging=never file.txt         # don't use pager

# Show git changes inline (like 'diff')
bat --diff src/app.ts               # highlight lines changed vs git

# As a colorized pager for man pages
export MANPAGER="sh -c 'col -bx | bat -l man -p'"

# eza: modern ls replacement (was exa, now maintained fork)
# Install: brew install eza / apt install eza

# Basic usage
eza                                 # color-coded by file type
eza -l                              # long listing (like ls -l)
eza -la                             # include hidden files
eza --tree                          # tree view
eza --tree --level=2                # tree, max 2 levels deep
eza -l --git                        # show git status per file
eza --sort=modified                 # sort by modification time
eza -lh --group                     # human sizes, group by owner

# Useful aliases
alias ls='eza --color=auto'
alias ll='eza -l --git'
alias la='eza -la --git'
alias lt='eza --tree --level=2'

delta and zoxide: Git Diffs and Smart Navigation

delta transforms git diff output with syntax highlighting and side-by-side view. zoxide learns your most-visited directories and lets you jump there with 1-2 letter commands.

# delta: syntax-highlighting pager for git diffs
# Install: brew install git-delta / cargo install git-delta

# Configure in ~/.gitconfig
[core]
    pager = delta

[interactive]
    diffFilter = delta --color-only

[delta]
    navigate = true      # n/N to jump between diff sections
    light = false        # set to true for light terminal
    side-by-side = true  # show old/new side by side
    line-numbers = true
    syntax-theme = Dracula

# Now all git diff/log/show output is highlighted
git diff HEAD~1
git log -p --follow -- src/utils.ts
git show a1b2c3d

# zoxide: smarter cd that learns your habits
# Install: brew install zoxide / apt install zoxide

# Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:
eval "$(zoxide init zsh)"    # for zsh
eval "$(zoxide init bash)"   # for bash

# Usage -- z learns directories you visit frequently
z project         # jump to most-used directory matching 'project'
z dev tool        # multiple terms: matches paths containing both
zi                # interactive mode: fuzzy search with fzf

# After a few days of normal use:
z dev             # /Users/you/Development/my-project
z dt              # /Users/you/devtoolbox
z log             # /var/log  or wherever you go most often

fzf and jq: Fuzzy Finding and JSON Processing

fzf adds interactive fuzzy search to any command. jq is the standard tool for parsing, filtering, and transforming JSON data in shell scripts and API work.

# fzf: command-line fuzzy finder -- connects everything together
# Install: brew install fzf / apt install fzf

# Interactive file picker
vim $(fzf)                          # open any file in vim
code $(fzf --preview 'bat {}')      # open in VS Code with preview

# Shell history search (Ctrl+R replacement)
export FZF_CTRL_R_OPTS="--sort --exact"

# Pipe into fzf for interactive selection
git branch | fzf | xargs git checkout    # interactive branch switcher
docker ps | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs docker stop

# jq: JSON processor for the command line
# Install: brew install jq / apt install jq

# Basic extraction
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/sharkdp/fd | jq '.stargazers_count'
cat package.json | jq '.dependencies | keys'
cat data.json | jq '.users[] | {name, email}'

# Filtering and transformation
cat users.json | jq '[.[] | select(.active == true)] | length'
cat logs.json  | jq '.[] | select(.level == "error") | .message'

# Build new structure
cat data.json | jq '{ total: length, names: [.[].name] }'

# Compact output (single line)
cat pretty.json | jq -c .           # minified JSON output

HTTPie and xh: Human-Friendly HTTP Clients

HTTPie and xh offer intuitive syntax for making HTTP requests, with automatic JSON formatting, session management, and clear output — replacing curl for development work.

# HTTPie / xh: human-friendly HTTP clients
# HTTPie: pip install httpie  |  brew install httpie
# xh (Rust, faster): brew install xh / cargo install xh

# GET request
http GET https://api.example.com/users
xh GET https://api.example.com/users         # same, xh syntax

# POST JSON (auto-detected from key=value syntax)
http POST https://api.example.com/users \
  name="Alice" \
  email="alice@example.com" \
  role=admin

# With headers and auth
http GET https://api.example.com/profile \
  Authorization:"Bearer $TOKEN" \
  Accept:application/json

# Form data
http --form POST https://example.com/upload file@/path/to/file.txt

# Download file
http --download https://example.com/file.zip

# Save session (cookies, headers) between requests
http --session=./session.json POST https://api.example.com/login \
  username=admin password=secret

http --session=./session.json GET https://api.example.com/dashboard

Shell Aliases and Productivity Functions

Good aliases and shell functions reduce repetitive typing. This section covers safety aliases, git shortcuts, and universal helper functions like mkcd and extract.

# Productivity shell aliases and functions
# Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc

# Navigation
alias ..='cd ..'
alias ...='cd ../..'

# Safety nets
alias rm='rm -i'            # confirm before delete
alias cp='cp -i'            # confirm before overwrite
alias mv='mv -i'

# One-line process management
alias psg='ps aux | grep -v grep | grep -i'
alias ports='ss -tlnp'      # listening ports (Linux)
alias myip='curl -s ifconfig.me'

# Git shortcuts
alias gs='git status -sb'
alias ga='git add -p'       # interactive staging
alias gl='git log --oneline --graph --decorate -20'

# Modern replacements (if installed)
command -v fd  > /dev/null && alias find='fd'
command -v rg  > /dev/null && alias grep='rg'
command -v bat > /dev/null && alias cat='bat --paging=never'
command -v eza > /dev/null && alias ls='eza'

# Useful functions
mkcd() { mkdir -p "$1" && cd "$1"; }          # mkdir + cd
extract() {                                    # universal archive extractor
  case "$1" in
    *.tar.gz)  tar xzf "$1"  ;;
    *.tar.bz2) tar xjf "$1"  ;;
    *.zip)     unzip "$1"    ;;
    *.gz)      gunzip "$1"   ;;
    *.7z)      7z x "$1"     ;;
    *) echo "Unknown format: $1" ;;
  esac
}

Classic vs Modern Tool Comparison

Frequently Asked Questions